Alien Words In Our Everyday Life (On The Need For An Estonian Database Of Structurally Alien Words)

Alien Words In Our Everyday Life (On The Need For An Estonian Database Of Structurally Alien Words)

Abstract

The paper deals with some problems related to the formation of a database of structurally alien words. First, the criteria used by the Estonian linguists to distinguish what we call vöörsöna (< vööras 'strange, foreign, alien') from the rest of the vocabulary needs some revision, for genetic and temporal facts do not necessarily correlate with structural criteria. As we know, once a sign system has become established, the adoption of new signs is not arbitrary. Evidently there is also certain regularity behind the necessity for a foreign-looking linguistic unit to be adopted into use now and then. The Database of Structurally Alien Words now prepared at the Institute of the Estonian Language (IEL) is meant to help the users of the Estonian language to find their way in the realm of such words. Timely and open as it is, the database is designed to provide exhaustive information on the functional behaviour of each item included.